Working Paper by South Africa : Language for Annex D - Field Investigations (D) (WP.211)
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BWC/AD HOC GROUP/WP.211
9 September 1997
Original: ENGLISH
________________________________________________________________________________
Eighth session
Geneva, 15 September - 3 October 1997
Working Paper by South Africa
LANGUAGE FOR ANNEX D - FIELD INVESTIGATIONS
(D) CONDUCT OF INVESTIGATION
Implementation by the investigation team of specific on-site activities
Interviewing of eyewitnesses
The investigation team shall have the right to interview persons, with their agreement, who witnessed a specific incident or provide information on a series of incidents, that could be used as information in the investigation. The interview shall take place in the presence of representatives of the State Party on whose territory the investigation is conducted.
The investigation team may seek information relevant to the investigation which is necessary to fulfil their investigation mandate. If required, interpretation shall be provided by the investigation team, or where requested, by the State Party.
Interviewing of potentially exposed humans and owners of potentially exposed plants and animals
The investigation team shall have the right to interview humans, or personnel responsible for plants or animals potentially exposed to BTW, with their agreement, in order to establish how the exposed humans, plants or animals were affected. The interview shall take place in the presence of representatives of the State Party on whose territory the investigation is conducted.
The investigation team may seek information relevant to the investigation which is necessary to fulfil their investigation mandate. If required, interpretation shall be provided by the investigating team, or where requested, by the State Party.
Interviewing of officials/personnel
The investigation team shall have the right to interview any relevant personnel, such as national/local government officials, personnel of any involved institutions,
GE.97-64119
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hospitals/medical facilities, etc. with their agreement, in the presence of a representative of the State Party. Advance notice of interviews shall be given.
The investigation team shall only request information and data relevant to the incident under investigation which is necessary for the conduct of the investigation. If required, interpretation shall be provided by the investigation team, or where requested, by the State Party.
The investigated State Party shall have the right to object to questions posed to personnel if it deems that those questions are not relevant to the investigation or impinge on sensitive national security or commercial proprietary data. If the investigation team leader nonetheless continues to believe that these questions are relevant and should be answered, he may submit them in writing to the investigated State Party for reply, together with an explanation of their relevance to the investigation. The investigation team may note in its report any refusal by the investigated State Party to permit interviews or to allow questions to be answered and any explanations given.
Interviews shall be conducted in such a way as to avoid unduly hindering the work of the personnel interviewed. The investigation team shall give advance notice of interview requests.
Visual [observation] examination
The investigation team shall have the right to examine visually [inspect] [visually observe] relevant areas in order to obtain information relevant to the investigation. All necessary precautions shall be taken to ensure the health and safety of the investigation team. The investigation team shall be accompanied by representatives of the State Party on whose territory the investigation is conducted.
If direct visual observation is not possible because of national security, commercial proprietary or health and safety considerations, the investigated State Party shall provide other means to demonstrate that the area and objects concerned are not relevant to and have no effect on the fulfilment of the investigation mandate by the investigation team. These may include, for example, the use of a video camera, photographs or drawings.
Disease-related examination
Appropriate members of the investigation team shall have the right to conduct medical examinations, with informed consent, on persons affected, as well as on animals and plants affected, in order to be able to make a diagnosis and enable the investigation team to determine whether victims have in fact been affected and what they have been affected by.
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The investigation team may, where necessary and applicable, with the necessary consent, take body samples in order to diagnose or confirm a clinical diagnosis of the disease.
The investigation team may conduct post mortem examinations where relevant.
The investigation team may have access to [other] medical, veterinary or agricultural information relevant to the investigation, such as records, and may request the examination of laboratory animals or samples.
Sampling and identification
The investigation team shall have the right to take and evaluate, where appropriate, environmental samples, samples of affected plants, samples of munitions and devices or remnants of munitions and devices in order to conduct tests for the presence of specific pathogens or toxins.
The investigation team may take samples itself in the presence of a representative of the investigated State Party. If the investigation team deems it necessary, they may request the investigated State Party assist in the collection of samples under the supervision of members of the investigation team. The investigation team may also request the investigated State Party to take appropriate control samples from areas neighbouring the areas under investigation. The investigated State Party shall receive duplicate samples, for its own analysis. The investigation team may test samples using any methods specifically designed or approved for use in such investigations, and available to the investigation team. At the request of the investigation team, the investigated State Party shall to the extent possible provide assistance for the analysis of samples, using locally available resources. Should it be negotiated that the investigated State Party itself performs analyses, the investigation team may request that this be done in the presence of members of the team.
Where the investigation team deems analysis on the territory to be impossible, it may remove samples for analysis in designated laboratories, with the approval of the investigated State Party. Representatives of the Investigated State Party shall have the right to accompany all samples and observe any analysis and the subsequent destruction.
Where applicable, the investigated State Party shall, in accordance with the principles of managed access, have the right to take measures to protect national security and confidential proprietary information such as requiring the use of specific tests or on-site analysis or, if necessary, to refuse a sample. In the latter case the investigated State Party shall be under the obligation to make every reasonable effort to demonstrate that the requested sample concerned is unrelated to the investigation mandate.
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Collection of background information and data
The investigation team shall have the right to collect and interpret background data necessary for the investigation. Background data may include normal and epidemic disease incidents and/or prevalence, demographic data [and data on the use of vaccines] [and vaccine production/purchase or usage]. Only data that may have a direct effect on the investigation may be collected.
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